1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to an organ type accelerator pedal apparatus and, more particularly, to an organ type accelerator pedal apparatus which can greatly reduce the effort required by a driver to depress the pedal.
2. Description of Related Art
Generally, an accelerator pedal apparatus in a vehicle is divided into a pendant type accelerator pedal which is mounted suspended from a dashboard and an organ type accelerator pedal which is mounted to a floor panel, according to a mounting structure.
In the case of an organ type accelerator pedal, a motion of a pad is the same as a motion of a driver's ankle, so that a driver can advantageously manipulate the organ type accelerator pedal more conveniently than a pendant type accelerator pedal.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an exemplary organ type accelerator pedal apparatus includes a pedal housing 1 which is fixedly mounted to a panel of a vehicle body (a floor panel) located below a driver seat, a pad 3, one end of which is connected to a pad-coupling part 1a of the pedal housing 1 via a hinge 2, so as to pivot via manipulation by a driver's foot, a pedal arm 5 which is disposed and mounted in an internal space 1b of the pedal housing 1 such that the pedal arm can pivot on a pivot axis 4 relative to the pedal housing 1, a carrier 6 which connects the pad 3 and one end of the pedal arm 5, and an elastic member 7 which is mounted to be supported, at both ends thereof, to the other end of the pedal arm 5 and an inner surface of the pedal housing 1, so as to provide an elastic restoring force to the pivot motion of the pedal arm 5.
However, in such an organ type accelerator pedal apparatus, since the pivot axis of the pad 3 is the hinge 2 fixed to the lower portion of the pad, there is a great difference in the effort to depress a pedal between when a driver presses an upper portion M1 of the pad, which is away from the hinge 2, and when a driver presses a lower portion M2 of the pad, which is close to the hinge 2, thus increasing driver fatigue.
That is, the effort required to depress the pedal is higher when pressing the lower portion M2 of the pad 3 than when pressing the upper portion M1 of the pad.
The foregoing is intended merely to aid in the understanding of the background of the present invention, and is not intended to mean that the present invention falls within the purview of the related art that is already known to those skilled in the art.
The information disclosed in this Background of the Invention section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.